A New Church Doing Ministry the Old Way

I was working at The Circle in Renville when someone stopped by to tell me of a new church; it is in a Midwest regional center. The new church is reaching out to its community in an old fashioned way. They actually go into the community and minister. The church meets for about twenty minutes on Sunday morning. They pray, sing a couple of songs, have a short message and then everyone goes into the community and ministers for 3 hours. Trash is picked up, lawns mowed, houses painted, the elderly are visited, meals cooked and frozen for the week, shoes polished, bathrooms cleaned, jails visited, the homeless shelter cleaned. The list is endless.

The church rents a small facility (no large building maintenance budget to worry about). Most of the donations go to the work they are doing and yes, the church is growing.

I shared what I heard with a small town Midwestern businessman who attends a large Lutheran church. He said, “This sounds like a church I’d like to go to.”

The church meets one time during the month to learn the essentials of the Christian faith. They meet for three hours during the week not on Sunday. Sunday is the day to do collective group ministry.

Jesus told us to go and make… Matthew 28:19—“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

He also told us to go to back roads and country lanes in Luke 14: 23 ("Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.”)

What we have done is tell the hurting “you come to us.” You come to us on our terms and our turf during our hours. Jesus told us to go even if it’s across the street.

This new church has gone into the world. They are in but not of the world (Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” They obeyed Christ. Any wonder why they are growing?

May the blessing of Christ go with them. The Holy Spirit fill and strengthen them. May they be protected from the evil one in every way and the God of the harvest will and has done His work.

Remember, our job is to share the truth. God Himself, through the blood of Christ saves them…